SF 1010 adds an additional criteria for the commissioner of health to consider when determining whether an area of the state is a hardship area with respect to access to nursing facility services, and modifies the definition and payment rates of specialized care facilities.

Section 1 (144A.071, subdivision 3) requires the commissioner to consider, for the purposes of designating an area of the state a hardship area with respect to access to nursing facility services, the availability of adequate care following discharge from the hospital for individuals with major disorders of mood, thought, or cognition who are unable to care for themselves and require a nursing home level of care.

Section 2 (256R.46, subdivisions 1 and 2) increases the total care-related payment rate limit by 100 percent for up to 50 beds in facilities that admit after discharge from a hospital certain individuals with major disorders of mood, thought, and cognitions for whom no appropriate care is available upon discharge.

Subdivision 3 provides for an unspecified interim payment rate for newly defined specialized care facilities whose costs will not be immediately reflected in their VBR rate.

 Subdivision 4 requires hospitals that discharge patients to these newly defined specialized care facilities to provide the facility with programmatic support.